Revelations
by madisoninthemargin
Summary: "Better? I'm not the hero everyone thinks. I'm destruction." He growled. His body was barely an inch away and through the hate filled haze, she could see the hurt in his eyes. "I was made for evil. Like father, like son." He whispered. He brought his hand closer and closer to her heart, still glowing the sinister green. "Where is your precious Ladybug to save you now?"
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! This is a new story that I've been working on, which you can also find on tumblr madisoninthemargin. Reviews are greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

* * *

"Cataclysm!" Marinette groaned. The middle of an akuma attack and she couldn't get away. Adrien, no Chat, advanced on her, his hand glowing in a wicked sort of way.

"Perfect Marinette. Everyone's friend. But not mine. You were always too good for me, weren't you?"

"Adrien, please, don't do this." She begged as she backed away, trying to keep him at bay and looking for a way to escape so she could transform. "You're better than this." She implored when her back hit the wall. She was thankful that they were in an empty classroom, the door locked so at least only she knew the truth of his identity.

"Better? I'm not the hero everyone thinks. I'm destruction." He growled. His body was barely an inch away and through the hate filled haze, she could see the hurt in his eyes. "I was made for evil. Like father, like son." He whispered. He brought his hand closer and closer to her heart, still glowing the sinister green. "Where is your precious Ladybug to save you now?"

"Please, don't make me do this." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from falling and from any part of herself from touching Adrien's hand.

"Tikki, spots on." she whispered, and the magic blew Chat away, giving her her escape route.

"You," Chat growled, having regained his feet. He was advancing on her again. "I should have known that perfect Marinette was the perfect Ladybug. It's all too good to be true."

"Adrien, Chat, please, tell me what I did to make you do angry." She implored.

"You're trying to buy time. Fight me!" He leapt at her with a speed that didn't seem real. The akuma had gone into his ring, she knew that much. It must have harnessed his kwami magic and made him stronger than ever.

She dodged and tossed her yoyo in the air, not wasting time, and called her lucky charm into existence.

A comb.

Not spotted, like all of her previous charms. It was green and blue and purple, and looked a lot like peacock feathers.

It felt different too. It had a weight, a _substance_ , that her other charms didn't have. _This was real._

She looked at Chat, his ring flashing. And she knew.

"Hawkmoth," she shouted. Adrien's face contorted into a grimace as Hawkmoth took real and proper control of Adrien.

"Are you missing something? Let Adrien go, and it's all yours. This ends."

Silence. She couldn't hear the things Hawkmoth was saying to Adrien, but suddenly his transformation wore off and a dark akuma flew from his ring.

Marinette cleansed it, and sent the comb off, letting the magic take it back to where ever it had come from.

"Ladybug?" Adrien called. "What happened." He rubbed his head and looked as sweet as he ever did.

"You tell me." Her voice came out harsher than she expected. "You were akumatized. And you came after me. So what did happen, Chat Noir?" She released her transformation and let him gape.

"Check your Kwami. We'll talk about this later."

* * *

"Plagg," Adrien called. He felt weak. Not like after an akuma battle. This was a different tired. This was a full body, disorienting kind of tired. "Plagg, where are you?"

"Adrien," he heard Plagg call. He stood on shaking legs and looked around the room for his kwami. There, on a desk. Adrien prayed that maybe his mistake hadn't harmed Plagg. That maybe his stupidity wouldn't be the end of everything.

"T-take me to M-master F-f-fu." Plagg stuttered and turned onto his side.

"Plagg how to I find him?" Adrien wasn't sure who this Master Fu was, but if he could save Plagg, Adrien would find him. Plagg didn't answer, only groaned a pitiful little squeak. Adrien picked him up carefully and cradled him against his chest.

"I'm so sorry. I'll fix it, I promise."

There was a knock at the door, and a moment later Marinette heard her mother call for her. She wiped away her tears and checked her phone. Maybe she'd missed a text from Alya, but there wasn't a single notification on her phone.

"Who is it?" She called out to her mom as she descended the stairs.

"Marinette!" That voice.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk in private?" Adrien asked, casting a careful glance towards her mother, who had retreated into the kitchen. Adrien could all but see the wheels turning in Marinette's head, trying to decide why exactly he was there.

"Mom, I'm going for a walk." She finally called out, not taking her eyes off of Adrien.

"Stay here." She told him. He stood impatiently at the door while she went back upstairs and came down with her purse. Her kwami was probably in there, he realized.

"Alright dear." Her mother called back. Marinette stepped outside the door and lead Adrien out onto the street.

"Talk."

"Um, private?" He prodded.

"The most private place is right here in public. No one is going to pay attention to two teenagers on a walk. Talk," she commanded again.

"My kwami is sick. He said that I needed to take him to someone named Fu." Adrien rushed. "I know you're mad and that you have every reason to be, but please." He reached inside his shirt where he had set Plagg and pulled him out, shielding him from anyone around them.

Marinette placed a gentle finger on the small black kwami, so similar to her own. He shivered, but didn't open his eyes.

"Okay," She agreed. "Come on." She looked around herself before grabbing Plagg out of Adrien's hand and setting him in her purse. Adrien thought he heard a small voice come from inside of it.

Marinette lead him through the streets of Paris, quickly and silently. He tried to think of what to say to her, something to begin to make amends for what he'd done, but nothing came to mind.

Marinette prayed that Adrien wouldn't say anything to her. She hadn't had the time to come to terms with the fact that the boy she'd been in love with forever, and was finally starting to get over, was actually the same boy who she was falling for - Chat Noir, hero of Paris.

Luckily, they arrived quickly and they arrived without a word between them.

"Master Fu?" Marinette called into a small room. There was a mat on the floor and an old record player on a bamboo shelf.

"Yes, how can I help you?" A small Chinese man came hobbling out of the back room. Adrien thought that he was familiar, but he couldn't place the man's face with a reason that he would know him.

"Do you remember me? You healed my cat a while ago." She said. He nodded and looked at Adrien. "My friend's cat is sick now, and you're the first person I thought of." She pulled Plagg from her purse and passed him to the man.

"I'll help you." He says and hobbles away from the pair, Plagg in hand.

The pair sat on a small bench that faced the door he had just disappeared through.

"Marinette, we should talk about what happened."


	2. Chapter 2

_It was going to be a good day, Marinette could tell._

 _"_ _You're looking very chipper today, Marinette." Tikki teased as she walked to school._

 _"_ _I'm feeling very chipper today, Tikki."_

 _"_ _Could it be because you have rounds tonight with Chat Noir?" Tikki giggled, and Marinette swatted at her playfully._

 _"_ _Very funny, Tikki." But even as she said it, she knew deep down that the promise of seeing Chat later that night was a big part of the reason she was in such a great mood. Not that she was ready to admit it to anyone, even her kwami._

 _"_ _Wow, Marinette, I'm loving this new look." Alya whistled._

 _"_ _It's not that new." She brushed her hands down her skirt._

 _"_ _Uh girl, don't lie. I saw this outfit as a sketch just last week. It's totally new!"_

 _"_ _What can I say, I was just inspired I guess." Marinette shrugged, hoping Alya would not pick up on the more subtle aspects of her inspiration that she'd thrown in._

 _"_ _Hmm, black skater boots, a green sweater, and a hair bow that looks a lot like a pair of familiar ears? Inspired by Chat Noir!" Alya crowed, loud enough to attract the attention of some of their classmates who had already filed into the room._

 _"_ _Marinette has a crush on Chat Noir?" Kim shouted. Marinette covered her eyes, cursing Alya._

 _"_ _No, I do not-"_

 _"_ _As if she would even have a chance," Chloe threw in._

 _"_ _More of a chance than you." She muttered under her breathe._

 _"_ _Please Chloe, superheroes always date nice girls." Alya defended. "Plus, how many times has Chat Noir needed Marinette's help fighting an akuma? She's totally the Mary Jane to his Spiderman!"_

 _"_ _Who's Mary Jane?" Adrien asked, setting his bag down and giving the group a small smile._

 _"_ _Marinette." Alya said smugly and crossed her arms over her chest._

 _"_ _And Spiderman?" He pressed, looking at Marinette. Her crush may have been on it's way out, but when he looked at her like that, hopeful and with those bright green eyes, she felt like that girl with a crippling crush again._

 _"_ _Chat Noir!" Rose shouted from the back of the room. "How romantic!"_

 _"_ _Chat Noir," he deadpanned. His fists clenched._

 _"_ _Can we please just drop this? I'm not Mary Jane, and Chat Noir is way cooler than Spiderman." Marinette pleaded. The class cooed and Adrien turned around, not saying another word._

 _"_ _So Chat Noir, huh?" Alya asked, quietly this time, as to not insight another riot in the classroom. She elbowed Marinette playfully and Marinette shoved her back._

 _"_ _He's sweet," Marinette answered, but didn't get anything else out, because just as Madame was about to begin the lesson when Adrien stood and stomped from the room. The entire class watched him leave in silence._

 _"_ _Marinette, would you please bring Adrien back?" She asked. Marinette nodded and left the room, trying to decide the most likely spot for Adrien to have gone._

 _She walked down the hall, listening for any sign of him, wondering why he'd left. Maybe he was sick and had gone to the bathroom? She decided to wait outside the men's room and see if he came out of it soon._

 _"_ _Yes, Hawkmoth."_

 _She cocked her head, and listened, hoping it had only been a figment of her imagination. She crept towards the closed door where she'd heard the voice. Through the small window she saw Chat, his back to her._

 _"_ _Chat Noir, what are you doing here?" She asked as she entered the room. He turned, and she knew it wasn't Chat._

 _"_ _Cataclysm!"_

"So why'd you do it?" She asked. He shrugged. "I mean I know that I _shouldn't_ be mad at you. It was Hawkmoth that did this to you, that made you so angry, but why _me?_ What did I do to make you _so angry?_ " She gripped the edge of her seat, her knuckles turning white.

"I don't know. I just-" he took a deep breathe. "I have been in love with Ladybug, with you, from day one. But she – you – didn't return my feelings, not like I wanted you to anyway. But you Marinette did. You liked me as Chat Noir, but never as Adrien.

"And that's it I guess. _Adrien_ has never been good enough, _Chat_ has never been good enough. _I've_ never been good enough." He looked down at his hands –his ring. He twirled it around his finger and waited for Marinette to say something – anything.

"When you first came to school, I hated you." Marinette began. "I thought that you were just going to be a male Chloe. But then you gave me your umbrella and I was lost. I spent years pining after you."

"What? No, you never talked to me." Adrien looked at her, and she blushed slightly at finally admitting her crush to him.

"I literally couldn't form a coherent sentence around you." She laughs. He chuckles too. "I spent years like that, with you never seeing me as more than a friend. It was discouraging. So when Chat started paying attention to me, and flirting with me – as me and as Ladybug – It wore me down, and I started to develop feelings."

"So you're telling me," Adrien folded his hands under his chin. "That we have spent years being in love with each other's various identities?"

"Yeah, I suppose so," Marinette began to giggle, and so did Adrien, and soon the pair were rolling on the floor, tears streaming down their faces from laughter.

"We're idiots," Adrien said, wiping away tears. Marinette nodded, pulling a handkerchief from her purse and wiping her face with it. They sat in comfortable silence for several moments.

"Adrien," She began. "When you were akumatized, you said something."

"I'm sure that I said a lot of things, Marinette." He shot back, ever the joker. She shot him a look that told him to be serious and his face grew somber.

"You said that you were made for evil. Like father like son. What did you mean by that?" She looked at him, and his face had gone pale.

"N-nothing. Just something the akuma made me say."

"Adrien," Marinette prodded, and put her hand on his arm. He flinched.

"It's nothing Marinette, alright?" He shouted. She withdrew her hand and he was sorry for it. "Marinette, I,"

"Come, children, we must speak." Master Fu said, walking back through the door, not waiting for them to follow.


End file.
